Improvement in cornets



UNITED STATES PATENT Onnicr.

LOUIS SOHREIBER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN CORNETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l19,925, datedSeptember 12, 1865.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LoUIs SCHREIBER, in the city,county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oornets; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to makeand use the same, reference .being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a sideelevation of a cornet made according to my invention, the tuning-pumpbeing shown in section. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken onthe line of Fig. l. Fig.3 is a detached section of the tuning-pump. Fig.4 is a detailed view ot the water-valve at the bottom of the tuningpump.Fig. 5 is a detailed view of one of the valves of the instrument, seenfrom the side presented in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a detailed view of the samevalve, seen from the opposite side.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention consists in certain improvementsin those musicalinstruments called cornets-a-piston,77 and which ,are equally applicableto those of similar character which are playedfrom the mouth. Amongthese improvements are, changing the positions ofthe mouthpiece tube andthe tuning-pump; also, changes in the action or in the means ofoperating the rotating valves 5 also, relieving the bell from the graspof the hand of the performer, and other changes and improvementshereinafter mentioned.

A is the mouthpiece tube of a cornet, and a the mouth-piece.

F is the valve-tube, placed vertically below the tube A, with which itis connected by the tuning-pump D. The crooks l for the ditl'erent keys,four in number, in the cornet here shown are vertically below thevalve-tube, the valves e being placed at points where they intersect thesaid valve-tube. Only one valve, e, is here shown, the places of theother valves being indicated by red outlines.

G is the curved tube which connects the valve-tube with the bell B, thetwo being stayed by a brace, h, extending from one to the other.Anotherbrace, i, extends from the bell to the upper part of thetuning-pump.

C is a linger-rin g, intended to receive the forenger of the left hand.It is attached to the upper part of the tuning-pump, and extends beyondit in a straight line.

The tuning-pump, the crooks d, the valvetube F, and the mouth-piece tubeA are all in the same vertical plane, and the bell is placed parallelthereto and below a horizontal line passingthrou gh theaxis oftherotatingvalve e.

The curved tube G is bent in a diagonal direction at its lowest part, soas to traverse the distance which separates the plane ofthe valvetubefrom that ot' the bell.

Thelowest section, b', ot' the tuning-pump D is a curved pipe and has anopening made in its lowest part on the outside otits curve, to whichopening a valve, E, is fitted whose nger-piece extends upward, as seenin Figs. 2 and et and in dotted outline in Fig. 4. The object of thisvalve is to permit the escape of water from the tuning-pump, whoseposition and shape are such that the water and moisture which arereceived into or collect in the instrument will be gathered at thebottom ot the section b of the pump, from whence they cannot pass intothe valve-tube when the instrument is held in position for playingwithout passing upward the entire height ofthe tuning-pump.

The tuning-pump D is made in sections, which connect with each other bya telescopic arrangement or by being made removable. I have in thisexample shown them made removable, so that the section b can be fittedto the upper part ofthe pump andthe section b' fitted to that; or theshorter section c may take the place of the section b, or the sections band c be both withdrawn and the section b be placed directly upon theupper part of the pump. By means of these sections the instrument can betuned to several different keys with great facility and withoutinterfering with the purity ofthe instrument. A digerence ot` half atone may also be made by sliding the several sections b and c in or outof theirjoints a greater or less extent.

The keyfot' the rotating valve extends in a horizontal direction betweenadjacent crooks d and beneath the valve-tube, its finger-piece lyingabove and across the bell, as seen in Fig. 2, the bell being dropped tothe position l have given to it to permit the key to extend across it.The key of each valve of the instrument will occupy a similar position.

The fulcrum I of the key is a short rocksnaft, to which the key isrigidly connected,

and which is journaled in a b'racket or frame, H, extending from theinner plate of the valve c to the adjacent branch of the next crook d,the ends ofthe bracket being fastened respectively to the said plate eand the branch of said crook. A spring, g, is wound upon the shaft I insuch a manner as by its tension to restore the key to its horizontalposition after each depression by the finger of the performer.

When the performer is about to use the cornet, he seizes the tuning-pumpand the adjacent crook d with his left hand, passing the foren gerthrough the ring C, the fourth linger then being naturally in such aposition as to enable it to reach the jnger-piece ofthe valve E withease. f

One of the advantages resulting from my invention is, that the performercan hold the instrument with lnore steadiness than when it is made afterthe usual style, with the mouthpiece tube below the bell and the crooksextending in a horizontal direction from the valve-tube. Anotheradvantage is, that I am .enabled to place the tuning-pump in a verticalposition and to free the instrument from water by a valve at its bottom.This valve can be operated by the fourth linger of the left hand withoutchanging the hand or removing the instrument from the mouth, and withoutinterrupting the progress of the music, since the valve may be openedduring an interval or rest in the piece. Another ativan-- tage is thatthe bell is not held or touched by the left hand, and so its vibrationsare not destroyed nor obstructed, as in the present styles ofinstruments of this class, by reason of the manner ot' holding them. Ithus preserve in full thecharacter and quality ofthe tone. Anotheradvantage is that I am enabled to reduce the size of the changing-crooks d for the different keys, owing to the position andcharacter of the tuning-pump. Another advantage is, that the instrumentcan be tuned,in whatever key it is capable of being played in, with easeand without interfering with the purity of its tone. Another advantagearises from the improvement in the actionthat is, the position andoperation of the keys f, one of which is shown as an example ofthe wholeseries which may be placed in an instrument.

By placing the mouth-piece tube, the valvetube, and the crooks in thesame vertical plane I am enabled to place the axis of the valve e in ahorizontal plane, as seenin'liigl, and by placing the key f also in ahorizontal plane I am enabled to rotate the axis of the valve e by thesimple vertical movement of the keyf, the

cross-barj" being attached in a vertical position at that end of the keyseen in Figs. 1 and 5, and a cord secured to its ends and embracing theaxis of the valve affording the means, as in other instruments, forrotating the valve e. Thus the action by which the valves are operatedis more. simple in its construction than in other instruments of thisclass, the key being a straight piece extending horizontally alongsideof the valve and above and across the trumpet. The left hand and forearmand elbow will naturally, when holding my instrument, be near the bodyand in a plane nearly vertical, instead of being extended away from thebody in a horizontal position, and the instrument can be held moresteadily, and the thrust otl the keys will be downward in a plane nearlycoincident with the plane in which the left arm is placed.

It results from the construction of the instrument above shown that thehandsY and arms are allowed to take easy and natural positions, and themovements of the fingers are consequently more easy.

The instrument is to beheld by the left hand, the forenger passing intothe ring C, the other iingers embracing the tuning-pump, .the palm lyingnext to the pump and to the adjacent crook d, and thethurnb embracingthat crook; or the position of that crook may be changed, if desired, soas that the hand shall not embrace it, in which case the tuning-pump maybe alone used; or a rod to be embraced by the thumb may extend downwardfrom the valve-tube between the pump and the adjacent crook d.

Having thus described myinvention,Iclaim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent- 1. In cornets and similar musical instruments, placingthe mouth-piece tube vertically above the valve-tube, substantially asabove described.

2. Constructing the key orkeysfot'a straight piece and placing them in aposition parallel with the Iaxis or axes of the rotary valve orvalvesoperated by them, substantially as above described. i

3. Placing the tuning pump D in a vertical position at the terminationof the mouth-piece tube, substantially as described.

4. The water-valve E in the end of the tuningpump, substantially as andfor the purpose above described.

5. The combination of the finger ring C with the tuning-pump, for thepurpose of providing means for holding the instrument, substantially asabove described.

y LOUIS SCHRElBER.

NVitnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, C. L. TOPLIFF.

